User blog:Stabber ApSig/My Valvrave Theories
A random, research for fun project that looks into the elements of Valvrave to determine deeper themes that the Valvrave series didn't really get into. I do this because Valvrave was just soo much fun even with it's flaws. This... what ever this is, is to make sense of the beautiful mess we call Valvrave The Liberator, and this is just the kind of thing I do when I attempt a Fanfiction. This is a work in progress so input is welcomed. For some reason I've drawn a notable amount of comparisons to the workings in TYPE-MOON works, like the well-known Fate/Stay Night. Story Themes Innocent Child (Naivety) vs. Ruthlessness Adult; compromising (splitting things by Half) vs. uncompromising determination. This is exemplified by Haruto Tokishima and Shoko Sashinami vs. L-elf Karlstein in their morals and methodology. The Ruthless Adult is seen with Senator Figaro, Delius Wartenberg and their dealings with the students of Module 77. A Valvrave is a device that takes away the registered pilot's "humanity", in other words their innocence, by both giving them a curse and being the act of taking up arms to fight. How the characters switches between considering piloting a Valvrave a "blessing" or "curse" is akin to the responsibilities and privileges that comes with being an adult. This theme of a child versus an adult is also seen with Module 77 becoming an independent nation from JIOR and the problems they need to deal with during this. Parents are also important point of the story to a degree. *Ryuji Sashinami - Shoko in a way inherited his responsibilities. *Soichi Tokishima - His work with the VVV Project is what gave birth to Haruto and gave him his "gifts". *Mitsutoshi Kitagawa - His death is what motivates his daughter to shoot Haruto and sell out the "monstrous" Valvrave Pilots. *Saki Rukino's parents are a part of the numerous problems Saki had to deal with a child *Mr. and Mrs. Renbōkōji - Pressuring their son Satomi with high expectations which pushed him to the breaking point is what lead to Akira to attempt to hack JIOR's national school and lead to their situation seen in the anime. Responsibility, what is in one's control and what isn't, and "power" is a notably prevalent theme. * When Haruto believes that Shoko has died, he feels the need to take revenge, this is also seen with Raizo Yamada and later Kyuma Inuzuka. Kyuma also believes that financial prowess will allow him to keep his loved one well. * Rukino Saki and Haruto, their "incident" and how Haruto tried to make amends by hastily marrying Rukino Saki. * L-elf "prophetic" military abilities and how he handles Lieselotte's death. Keeping Secrets vs. Telling the Truth, it's in the title and a major element that disseminates the "truth" is the social network system WIRED. This is also at the core of the relationship between the Renbōkōji siblings because of Satomi not sharing the blame with Akira's hacking attempt, which in turn leads to Akira's hellish bullying in school. My Thoughts :These themes relate to growing up, becoming an adult, and all the pain and happiness that happens along the way. The Valvrave my express a magical and very powerful feelings that come from special moments found on this amazing journey we call life, which can be used due to the power of Rune. There are times we need to do are best and there are times to listen to the other person. Symbolism / Allegory 'Rune' : Rune or Ansuz Bosons, base information particles integral to life and the source of "Magic" within the Valvrave universe. The elements said to correspond to Rune of the VVV universe relate to the meanings of the real-life Ansuz Rune. 'Valvrave' These are the things related to the robotic Primate Frame weapon Valvrave. :Three-Legged Bird : The tripedal bird in the Valvrave's imagery, is construed as evidence of a higher power in human affairs. This relates to the Valvraves as they use a supernatural power that originated from fairies or spirits, entities that are not a part of the normal mortal world. I believed this was used to be more thematically obvious and relatable to a japanese viewer. :Valravn : As the devours a child to turn into a knight; so does the Valvrave makes a student (a role related to being a child in one way or another) to "resign their humanity" to protect and avenge, things a knight is known to do. Samurai's, the armament theme of RM-011 Valvrave I Hito, are seen as analogues to knights which fits with JIOR's Japanese personality. :The VLC Polymer armor turning black could be seen as an allegory to being stained with blood or a loss of innocence. The Valvrave runs on Rune, a particle involved with life forces including red blood cells. This allegory is in agreement with the Valvrave's theme of the child-devouring Valravn. The contract to to "resign one's humanity" can be interpreted as a loss of innocence as well, innocence being traditionally related to children. :RM-KG1 Valvrave VII Kakaiju : Valvrave VII's V-Swordkill when attached on the upper torso by the head evokes to me the scarves that superheroes wear, the Senses Nerves "fairly wings" on the back of the Kakaiju also seem artistically complement the V-Swordkill as a big scarf. With this superhero theme in mind, "Kakaiju" does sound like the name of a Japanese superhero like Kamen Rider. :Harakiri Blade :666, the number needed on the Heat Counter to activate the Harakiri Blade, is the number of the Beast or devil, likely a reference to how horrifyingly powerful the attack is. I've always seen the suicide move used to prepare the sword for this attack as just a way for the blade to be directly exposed to the energized RAVE engine to thouroughly and densly charge said sword for the Harakiri Blade; although there could be something about the apocylpse with people ussualy commiting suicide before it happens and 666 could be construed as the apoclypses comming. All of this seems to stick the theme of the Harakiri Blade being a devastating strategic weapon. : As a side note and since I'm looking into TYPE-MOON stuff, the Harakiri Blade has quite a few similaries to Saber's Excalibur. It's also similar to Getsuga Tensho from Bleach. :Armstronger Cannons : These defining weapons of the RM-031 Valvrave III Hikaminari bring to mind a Hindu god with it's numerous arms, especailly the pose it takes when it first reveals said arms. Related or not I'm not sure, one of the Dai Arms used by the Armstronger Cannons reminds me of a Vajra; at the very least Valvrave III's name "Hikaminari", Fire Thunder, ties to a Vajra as it can symbolize a thunderbolt. :Buzz Buster : My thought behind the naming of this interesting weapon. "Buzz" might be derived from Buzzard, a bird-of-prey, the arrangement of the barrel fins looks similar to the edge of the wing of such a bird. "Buster" is more easily discerned as the weapon is more or less artillery, compared to the Volc Arm, meant to "bust up" multiple small or one large target. :Humming Bird : At a bit of loss on this important weapon of RM-069 Valvrave VI Hiasobi, but it definitly calls to mind a Hummingbird with it's shape and the use of it's Senses Nerve "beak". 'Dorssia Military Pact Federation' The Walkit-class Heavy Space Cruiser calls to mind an old biplane; These broad, squarish and bulky wings, also seen with the Ideal-class Mechanized Annihilator, Ideal [Blume] and even the Waffe's Eisen Giests, gives the impression of a rugged and sturdy weapon, great characteristics for an antogonist. This design also implies that these weapons are using old ideas, especially when compared to the Valvraves, and that the more modern swept wing design of the Erpf129-z5 Kirschbaum, a machine based on the revolutionary Valvrave, is to show how much more advanced the Kirschbaum is to all other Dorssian mechs that came before it. Science of Magic A key difference with the Valvraves and other, non-RAVE mecha is that while a Valvrave can power its equipment just by grabbing it, more standard mechs such as the Waffe, Ideal and even Kirschbaum is that it needs to be attached to a hard point to power and control it. Although the Wurm Oben and Wurm Unten are a bit of an exception, but not a large one. Waffe :I think that the Waffe mech used by the Dorssian Military is a decently high performance machine, but this is easily overlooked due to the awesome power of the Valvraves. The Waffe's extendable arms and ball-jointed "Eisen Giest" shields gives me the impression that it has a commendable capabilty for AMBAC manuevering, obviusly this is not at the level of a Primate Frame but still it's an interesting advantage over Splicer fighters. In an atmosphere the Eisen Giests could also be used as crude maneuvering wings. :*It's fairly safe theory that multiple Eisen Giests link together using magnetic locks. As the Dorsians field Magnetic Attachment Boomerangs as well, a resulting theory is that Dorssians have a good grasp of electromagnetic technologies, technologies that could be used to create the Fortification power seen in Mass Effect. That would make it even more believable that multiple Waffe's making a shield wall can survive a barrage from a warship many times their collective mass. This potential power of the Waffe is even more interesting when one keeps in mind of a Dyson Sphere module's Anti-debris magnetic shields ARUS Space Warships :The standard ARUS Carrier Warship has vague similiarities to the Nahel Argama from Gundam Unicorn; or at the Nahel Argama is a good reference for imagining how this occasionally seen ship works. Both have four forward catapults and a large central beam cannon. Valvrave Tech The principal workings of a Valvrave appear to be closely related to the sciences of thermal energy. :Heat System : Heat Fins are pervailent on most of the Valvraves and not only radiate heat, but also Rune leaking from the pilot. These fins are also seen within the Clear Fossil emitters on ends of a Valvrave's heels and wrists. Therefore it can be concluded that heat is used in the conduction of the energies of the RAVE engine throughout the Valvrave and it's equipment. Just as the Valvraves generate heat to function, the body temperature of a TYPE-MOON Magus increases when using thier Magic Circuits, as seen in TYPE-MOON works such as the famous Fate/Stay Night. It should be noted that the overheating problem is not seen with the Magius; but in line with the comparison to TYPE-MOON magecraft, negligible heat can be seen as a sign that using Rune is natural for Magius instead of unnatural as with Valvraves and humans with Magic Circuits. : Another similarity is with the F91 Gundam as well, not only in the pervalence of raditaor fins in both designs but also the abilty for causing after-images with mass as seen with in the 200-year flash forward with Valvrave IV's "Condemnation Mirage". This (future) ability is theoretically enacted by Rune and/or Hard Afterglow emitted from the entirety of the Valvrave. Like the F91's Metal Peel-off Effect the Valvrave's seem to have some form of Rune energy Peel-off effect that while its gives a Valvrave decent ability to function in space, it seems that this Rune Peel-off Effect is hampered within an atmosphere, as atmospheric pressure or possibly the Earth radiating energy from the sun impedes the Peel-off Effect; This would explain why Valvraves can handle their heat levels better in space than on Earth despite this being the opposite in real-life. :Clear Fossil :Clear Fossil seems to have some similarities the GN Condensers used by the GN Mobile Suits of Gundam 00, a crazy comparison I've made is between the wrist and heel Clear Fossil emmiters of the Valvrave's to the GN Vernier/Condensors of the GNX-Y802T Neo-Hed. Unlike GN Condensers, Clear Fossil cannot be used as power source on it's own (Impact Boosters are a special exception) and are used for projecting Hard Afterglow and other effects such as being used as Senses Nerves sensors. : Judging by the name, I theorize that the material's creation process artificially "fossilizes" a material that conducts and/or interacts with Rune energies, meaning a living organisms of some kind of single-cell thing. Maybe related to Amber which it vaguely looks like. :V Light Crystal (VLC) Polymer : It's the main amor material of the Valvraves that appears to conduct the energies of the RAVE engine, including heat, throughout the Valvrave itself. When "activated" it has the color of the Valvrave's inherent Hard Afterglow color streaming through it similar to the markings on Haruto's face when under the influence of Valvrave to feed. I think the VVV invented this armor while studying the Clear Fossil-made Senses Nerves of the Magius ship wreck. : VLC Polymer when having access to energy of the RAVE Engine may be like Reinforcement magecraft, which would give a Valvrave the implied toughness and maybe limited abilty to self-repair as the cracks seen before Valvrave I activated in Episode 1 are completly forgoten. :VLC Polymer also has similarities to GN Composite Armor in that both use thier proprietary energies to reinforce the armor, although VLC Polymer is more dramitcally impressive especially when it activates. The effects of TRANS-AM on this GN particle armor can also be a clue to how Condemnation Mirage works. :Thrown Melee Weapons : I think that the "lightning" that connects the "buzzsaw" and handle of Valvrave IV's Spindle Knuckle is obviously yet another form of RAVE energy in use. While Valvrave I's Meteor Plate and Valvrave III's Dai Delta are not as advanced as the Spindle Knuckle (or even seen used), I think that similar, lightning projected from the wrist emitter can occur to help retrieve said weapons when it returns to the Valvrave albeit with a very short range. These Meteor Plate weapons are basically Valvrave's version of the Beam Boomerangs of Gundam Seed as first seen with the Sword Strike, I find it easier to imagine these functioning with the magical mechanisms of the Valvraves in allowing the boomerang to return instead of Gundam SEED's Beam Boomerangs. Rune, the source of Magic I believe that Rune so much power is because the Rune of Humans, every little detail of their myriad of emotions, thoughts and intertwined memories, essentially one's soul, is so complicated, and from a themeing point of view very important that "unraveling" these Runes like a fission reaction (I love fission) causes such awe-inspiring power. One analogy is if you take computer picture and the resulting power you get from the picture's Rune is equal to the length of the raw binary or other computer data coding that makes up the picture. With all these TYPE-MOON comparisons I've been doing, Rune can be seen a form of Prana but is harder to replenish and depletion causes much more harm than just being unable to cast a spell. :RAVE Energy and Hard Afterglow : The concept of Gradiation Air can be likened to a Valvrave conjuring Hard Afterglow from RAVE Energy. While an average Valvrave moves it's Clear Fossil emitter tipped limbs to "trace" Hard Afterglow; an Impact Booster appears to be able to manipulate this energy in more specific ways, such as ranged beam blasts, even without doing the previously mentioned wide movement. It would be really nice seeing a Valvrave "trace" Hard Afterglow with the familiar, I imagine the resulting glass crystal would be more like a proper wall. Magius :Rune "needs" : While the Magius "devour" likely hundreds of humans for their Runes, I get the feeling that this large amount is meant for their body stealing rituals, having a somewhat excessive "healthy diet" and other practices that we just don't know about that just go with the theme of them living comfortable, well-supplied lives of eating souls. Problems I've Found Mecha Tech :Variable Vulcans : I never got to see the "Variable" part of Variable Vulcans. It would have been nice to see one mode where it sprays Hard Light ordinance to destroy the Missile Massacres that the Valvrave's face from the Ideal's and hordes of Waffe's, and another where said ordinance (whether it be Beam or Solid RAVE energy) is larger and fires slower and is able notably damage other mechs like these did to the Dainsrave's face at the finale episode. :RM-011 Valvrave I Hito * The Strike Brace is backwards and needs to be inverted. The Clear Fossil edge on the side of the Strike Brace has to oriented so it can be used when performing an outward arm slash, otherwise it's canon orientation is just an exercise in bad blade safety although I will admit as it is the Strike Brace has an interestingly good defensive coverage of the upper arm while in a ready stance as seen in Episode 13. Also the vent-like elements on the Z-Edge cooling system should be pointed away from the main body by pointing them towards the hand. Although on the Model, where the Vuratoga is held like a bazooka to let it stay in a stable pose it, the position of the Clear Fossil make more sense as the red part is used as a shoulder rest. * Why are the Cooling Barrels of the Volc Arm orange all the time? I know there are orange heat sinks, but I feel that Cooling Barrels are more or less Thremal Clips of the guns of Mass Effect and would make more sense to me if they looked more like the Tail Cartridges of the Impact Booster where etheir glowing orange when ejected from said weapon. :RM-031 Valvrave III Hikaminari * The Armstronger Cannon when combined has four "barrels" in the center of each of it's claw, but each of those barrels are not used when each of the arms split into four, instead a Dai Arm weapon or hidden barrel is used to to fire when split. Instead of a Dai Arm to every Armstronger sub-arm for shooting and the occasional stabbing, I think it would be better for the main humanoid arms to have the shooter type Dai Beta so the Beam spam has another pair of beam guns to fire away with. * The Chain Saucer never fires Hard Afterglow disks and I can't make sense of how they could it in the first place. I think that Chain Saucers, in fact the whole of unit III, is based on the concept of the Buzz Buster as both the Armstrong Cannon and Buzz Buster behave similarly; therefore the Chain Saucers themselves should be more like an individual Buzz Buster fin barrel that fires different types of Hard Afterglow disks and have a beam mode like the Volc Arm. I see it being similar to the Chakram Launcher from Mass Effect 3. :RM-056 Valvrave V Hiuchiba * The Bolt Phalanx, where do I begin with these convoluted things. Although this thing is described as using Hard Afterglow shells (bolts) that exploded after delay, the thing is mostly seen doing beam spams. Also since these things need to be open to be fired the Bolt Phalanx looks like it would be awkward to maneuver while Valvrave V has the IMP shields. :Proper Impact Booster installation : The Impact Booster is one one my favorites and I don't really have any problems with it, I have I problem with where it can be placed on a Valvrave. It doesn't seem physically possible to have a Buzz Buster and an Impact Booster on the same arm, the back fingers are the problem. They also don't look like they could fit on top of Valvrave V's Bolt Phalanx, even if they could don't Impact Boosters need access to a Valrave's emitters. :Water as Space Coolant : I don't think water does not work as seen in Valvrave; Interestingly in real-life water boils when exposed to a vacuum without being at it's normal boiling point. But what do I know about complicated science, It's still a neat tactic to see done in the anime's story. : Reading AJ-Writer's "Valvrave: The Founding Of An Empire" is what got me thinking on this little piece of the Valvrave story :Dorssian Thruster Vanes : The Thrusters Vanes of the Ideal, Ideal [Blume] and the Missile Pod units of the Erpf129-z5 Kirschbaum have no space inbetween each of the individual vanes and therefore cannot move easily; A good example of how conventional thruster vanes should be can be seen with the YF-21 Variable Fighter; note the void between each of the Vanes. Although I do admit the way they are now is good for keeping them safe and armored and I noticed that it could be possible that lining the inner sides of the vanes could be a flat thruster that could be what is providing the motive power for maneuvering. Story Cryptic and Unanswered : The many mysterious comments made by Cain that are never explained or even mention ever again. * Pino and Prue being the "Original Pair" * The partially-made Valvraves found by A-drei will allow them "to connect lives together" * When Cain notes Haruto's immortality and says that he's "Third Generation". :What does the Council of 101 consider a "level 3 event" and what are the other levels mean? :What exactly is a Level 7 dangerous organism/lifeform as specified by the U.N. in the Valvrave world. Random Like Bungie's work (Halo) there 7 references to be found every so often. Doesn't the uniforms of the, briefly seen, JIOR soldiers remind one of the original color scheme of Valvrave II. The Bull-Head Mech gives me the impression that Dorssian's, or at least their descendents have a bull as at least one of their symbols. Or at the very least they like basing their stuff on brutish or at least burly beasts. Based on the design of the Primate Frames that comprise the Lind Wurm, I think the the idea that future Bull is lower level design of the future. I keep seeing references to Red vs. Blue's Tucker in H-neun. * Tucker's armor and the trim to H-neun's Ideal appears to be a similar, if not the same color which is either teal or aqua. * H-neun is prone to engaging in close combat while Tucker is known for using an energy sword. * Both of them aim to be ladies men, obviously H-nuen is the better of the two. With mechs like the Erpf129-z5 Kirschbaum and Bull-Head Mech being used in the future, the Golden Seven can't rely on their Valvrave's impressive power as they once could and what wins their battles is the knowledge and wisdom that comes with over two centuries of piloting. That's not to say that Valvraves can't work their magic in new ways as seen with the Condemnation Mirage. Mecha *The Manned Waffe mechs vaguely looks like a Zaku II with shields on both shoulders and everything at the skirt armor and below is removed and replaced with a rocket nozzle. The head looks more like the Crossbone Vangaurd's Den'on Zon or the eyes of the Hyaku Shiki's their active. Like Crossbone MS it has access to a spear and both display their group's crest on their body. *Vaguely, Splicers look like X-Wings while Waffe's (specifically the unmanned Waffe looking at the top when it's flying) look like TIE Fighters. These kind of crazy Star Wars comparisons bring an interesting light to ARUS and the Dorssian Federation, the Dorssians are like the Empire and ARUS is like the Republic. *The Lind Wurm's maw reminds me of Shriekers from Tremors. *Maybe it's my love for this unique weapon but I find that the Valvrave's solid shell weaponry remind of the good old Needler and it's relatives from Halo. *There's the standard wire with foot hook seen so often in Gundam that Haruto used to leave the Valvrave at the end of the first episode after the "ending song; where the heck did it come from. Category:Blog posts